Combine chocolate-dipped cordial cherries with a cake ball to make these delicious Cordial Cherry Cake Balls. These sweet treats make wonderful Valentine's Day desserts but are perfect to give as Christmas gifts or as birthday party favors.
For Valentine's Day this year, I thought it would be fun to revisit a few of my most popular holiday recipes starting with my Sweet Chocolate Cherry Bombs, which are chocolate cake balls wrapped around a maraschino cherry and then dipped in dark chocolate.
I knew when I made them for the first time, three years ago, brought them to a party, and they were gone in minutes, that I had hit on something pretty good. I've been so pleased to see that you like them too.
This time, I created the center by wrapping white cake ball dough around a maraschino cherry and dipping them in Cordial Cherry Candy Melts. Yum!
Now, not only do they look like Cordial Cherries, but they taste like them too.
So, let's make some Cordial Cherry Cake Balls.
Ingredients
white cake - Use one 9x13-inch or 2 8-inch round white cakes.
frosting - To keep the cake balls bright white, use white vanilla frosting.
maraschino cherries with stems
Cordial Cherry Candy Melts*
Substitutions
* Sadly, the Wilton Cordial Cherry Candy Melts have been discontinued.
You can use Dark Cocoa Candy Melts instead and flavor it using an oil-based cherry flavoring that is specifically formulated for chocolate.
If you add the oil, and the candy melts get too thick, you can add some paramount Crystals or Wilton EX thin to thin them out.
Supplies
knife
optional, stand mixer (or you can use your hands)
ice cream scoop
tall glass
parchment paper-lined baking pans
Instructions
Trim the browned edges off your cake.
- Cut off all of the browned edges, top and bottom of the cake.
- This will ensure you have nice white cake balls to wrap around your maraschino cherries.
Making white cake balls dough.
- Crumble the white part of the cake and mix in some of the frosting.
- Add more frosting until your cake balls hold together nicely.
- I use my KitchenAid to mix the cake and frosting. You can mix it by hand or use a food processor, as well.
- Add enough frosting so the cake sticks together.
- The number of cake balls you get out of this recipe will depend on how you mix them. When I made them by hand I got more per batch.
- I wanted my cake balls to be very white, so I only used the white part of the cake and white frosting.
- If you use the browned edges, top and bottom, you'll end up with an off-white cake ball instead.
- I didn't want to waste all of those crumbs, so I made some cake ball mixture out of it which I just dipped in some chocolate. You can see that there was a lot of this in the bowl.
Wrap white cake ball dough around a cherry.
- Drain and blot dry your maraschino cherries using a paper towel.
- Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the cake ball mixture and wrap it around the cherries.
- Roll into balls.
Dip cake balls in chocolate.
Before you begin, if you don't have much experience melting or working with candy melts, read my Chocolate Making Tips page.
- Melt the candy melts in the microwave using 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each until melted.
- If using, stir in the cherry oil. If needed, add a small amount of paramount crystals and stir to thin out the candy melts.
- Pour the melted candy melts into a short glass.
- Dip the cake balls by holding onto the cherry stem.
- Lift the cake ball out of the glass and allow the excess candy coating to drip off. Set cake balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- After dipping about 5 of your cordial cherry cake balls, pop them into the freezer for about 5 minutes. If you leave them out at room temperature for too long, they will begin to set and may develop white spots.
- So, move quickly and just dip a handful before freezing them.
- If you freeze them for too long, they can crack, so set your timer if need be.
Tips
- I do not find it necessary to freeze my cake balls before dipping them. Whenever you are dipping anything in chocolate or Candy Melts you want it to be close to room temperature. When it's cold the chocolate will harden too quickly, causing it to crack.
- If your cake balls are too soft to dip, let them sit out, uncovered, at room temperature for about an hour. The exterior will dry out slightly, making them easier to dip into the chocolate.
Storage
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Related Recipes
If you enjoy making these cake balls, you might also enjoy these other recipes.
Recipe
Take chocolate covered cherries to the next level and make these Cordial Cherry Cake Balls! They're perfect for Valentine's day.
- 1 baked white cake, brown edges, top and bottom trimmed
- ⅓ -⅔ cup white frosting
- 20 maraschino cherries with stems
- 20 ounces Cordial Cherry Candy Melts or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts flavored with cherry oil
-
Crumble the trimmed white cake into fine crumbs.
-
Mix in frosting, adding just enough so that the cake balls hold together.
-
Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the cake ball dough.
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Wrap the cake ball dough around maraschino cherries.
-
Roll into balls.
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Melt the candy melts in the microwave using 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each until melted. If using, stir in the cherry oil. If needed, add a small amount of paramount crystals and stir to thin out the candy melts. Pour the melted candy melts into a short glass.
-
Dip the cake balls into the melted candy melts.
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Holding onto the stem, remove the cake ball from the chocolate and allow the excess to drip back into the glass.
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Freeze for about 5 minutes, until the candy coating is set.
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Serve and enjoy!
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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Anonymous says
the conversation cheesecake hearts. leutheb(at)msn(dot)com
Anonymous says
I love the heart cheesecakes with the conversation hearts! Di, bakerdi1@yahoo.com
Anonymous says
The cordial cherry cake pops look yummy
Rachel Rodrigues says
any recipe! I want to make them all! 🙂
Sugar Butter Baby says
This is great! I have the cordial cherry melts and didn't know what to make. It's a nice gift for a guy since they aren't too girly/lovey dovey.
Anonymous says
the chocolate heart boxes!
spgoddess55(at)msn(dot)com
Sandy H says
Just found you. Really interested in the cherry cake balls
Sandy H says
I just found your page on facebook. The cherry cake balls have my interest.
freebiequeen15 says
The conversation heart cheesecakes!
AnnaZed says
I like the Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Truffles
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{in the contest I am Margot Core on the Rafflecopter}
Marlies says
Hi there! I must say, I love all of your ideas! But I have one question: why are the giveaways just for U.S. residents?? That just makes me really sad haha
beth says
I feel bad I can't include all my readers in the giveaways, but it's so expensive to ship outside of the US (I just shipped a box to my exchange student in Germany and it cost just under $100 - crazy!) Plus there are so many laws that it would be impossible for me to govern an international giveaway. I'm so sorry!!!
Kendra Arch says
Neat idea!
Bhrngari says
I *love* chocolate covered cherries, and these sound great! Much easier than making the fondant center ones!
Bryn says
The ice cream truffles from yesterday
Radlady says
I just stumbled upon this blog through Pinterest - love the cupcake wrappers and the Cherry Cordial bombs - will have to be trying this!
Radlady says
Just stumbled upon this blog from Pinterest. Haven't checked out too much - but these Cherry Cordial Cake Balls look fabulous. Will be giving them a whirl and checking out the rest of the blog! Happy Valentines!
Amy a says
The Warm and Fuzzy cupcakes! Love them.
Amy a says
These Cherry balls look wonderful. I am loving your chocolate cupcake wrappers.
Kathy J says
Though these Cherry Cake Balls sound and look delicious, my favorite is still the Conversation Heart Cheesecakes.
Unknown says
I gotta say, I am LOVING the cordial cake pops idea!